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Locating Information Mastery
Master the art of scanning for specific facts, opinions, and reasons hidden deep within the text.
Mini-Masterclass: The Biggest Student Mistake
Many students confuse “Matching Information” with “Matching Headings.” They are fundamentally different! Headings ask for the Main Idea of the paragraph. Locating Information asks for a Highly Specific Detail inside the paragraph.
Read Paragraph C:
“The psychological impact of long-term space travel is still heavily debated. While physical muscle deterioration can be mitigated by daily exercise routines on the International Space Station, the mental toll of isolation is harder to combat. In a recent 2022 survey of retired astronauts, 68% reported experiencing vivid, stress-inducing dreams during their first month back on Earth.”
If this was a “Matching Heading” Question:
The answer would be something like: “The psychological difficulties of space exploration.” (This summarizes the entire paragraph).
If this is a “Locating Information” Question:
The statement to match might be: “A statistic showing how common sleeping issues are for returning astronauts.” (This is a tiny, specific detail buried at the end of the paragraph).
The 8-Step Scanning Strategy
Do not read the text blindly. Use this strategic method to find the hidden information efficiently.
1
Do This Question LAST
Each text has multiple question types (like True/False or Fill-in-the-Blanks). Do those easier questions first! By the time you finish them, you will have a natural “mental map” of the text, making it much faster to locate these specific details.
2
Check the Instructions
Look very closely at the instructions. If you see the phrase “You may use any letter more than once”, it means one paragraph (like Paragraph B) will likely contain the answers to TWO different statements.
3
Read Statements First
Read all the statements carefully before you look at the text. Think about what type of information you are looking for. Is the statement looking for “a reason”, “an example”, “a comparison”, or “a date”?
4
Skim and Map the Text
Quickly skim read the passage. Do not read every word. Just write a 1 or 2-word summary next to each paragraph (e.g., “History”, “Problems”, “Solutions”). This creates a roadmap to help you scan later.
5
Start with the Easiest Statement
You do not have to do the statements in order! Look for a statement containing easily scannable words: Names, Numbers, Dates, or capitalized Places. Search for these in the text first to secure quick points.
6
Expect Heavy Paraphrasing
You will almost never find the exact words from the statement in the text. Be on high alert for numbers written as words, or fractions written as percentages.
Statement: “A half” → Text: “50%”
Statement: “A description of” → Text: “It consists of…”
Statement: “A description of” → Text: “It consists of…”
7
Read in Detail to Confirm
Once you think you have found the paragraph, slow down. Read that specific sentence in deep detail. Does it actually contain the information requested, or does it just share a keyword? Exact keyword matches are often traps.
8
Cross Off and Move On
Once you confirm the match, write the paragraph letter (e.g., ‘C’) on your answer sheet and cross the statement out so you don’t look at it again. Then, use the process of elimination for the remaining statements.
10 Quick Strategy Challenges
Click to reveal how you should analyze these common Locating Information scenarios.
1. True or False: The answers will appear in chronological order as you read down the text.
False! This is what makes this question hard. Statement 1 might be found in Paragraph E, while Statement 2 is in Paragraph A.
2. The instruction does NOT say “You may use any letter more than once.” What does this mean?
It means every statement matches a unique paragraph. Once you select Paragraph B for an answer, you can permanently cross out Paragraph B.
3. A statement says: “an explanation of why the bridge collapsed.” What are you scanning for?
You are scanning for CAUSE/REASON words. Look for phrases like “due to”, “because of”, “resulted from”, or “the primary factor was”.
4. Why is it highly recommended to do this question type LAST?
Because you have to search the whole text. If you do other questions first (like Fill-in-the-Blanks), you will naturally learn where certain topics are located, saving you massive amounts of scanning time later.
5. A statement says: “69% of the population agreed.” How might the text paraphrase this?
The text might say “just over two-thirds of the public” or “nearly 70 percent of citizens”. Always be ready to translate math into English!
6. You find the exact words of the statement in Paragraph C. Is it definitely the answer?
Beware! Examiners often put the exact words in the wrong paragraph to trap students who are “blindly scanning” without reading for meaning. Always read the full sentence to confirm.
7. A statement asks for “a description of the new policy.” What does this mean in the text?
You are looking for details about WHAT the policy actually does (e.g., “The rule requires workers to log hours…”). Just finding the word ‘policy’ is not enough.
8. You are running out of time and only have 2 minutes left. What should you do?
Quickly scan the statements for the easiest keywords—capitalized names, years (e.g., 1999), or numbers. Search ONLY for those to get quick, guaranteed marks. Guess the rest.
9. What is the difference between Skimming and Scanning?
Skimming is reading very fast just to get the general “map” or main idea of the text. Scanning is acting like a laser, ignoring the meaning of the text to hunt for a specific word or number.
10. A statement asks for “predictions about future growth.” Which paragraphs should you scan first?
Start by scanning the final paragraphs. Predictions, future outlooks, and conclusions are almost always located at the very end of an academic text.
10 Full Locating Information Tests
Put your strategies to the ultimate test with these full IELTS Reading tasks.
